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FDA To Review Whether To Allow More Access To Certain Peptides
- April 17, 2026
- HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon review whether certain peptides should be allowed in customized medications made by compounding pharmacies.
Peptides are small chains of amino acids that are marketed for a wide range of uses, including treating wounds, obesity, insomnia and inflammatory conditions.
An FDA advisory panel is set to meet in late July, a notice posted earlier this week shows, to discuss seven peptides now restricted due to safety concerns.
The compounds have been promoted for their health and antiaging benefits, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voiced his support for expanding access to them.
“This action begins to restore regulated access and will immediately begin shifting demand away from the black market,” he wrote in a social media post.
Peptides are already used in some approved medicines, such as insulin and certain weight loss drugs.
But many newer peptide products, like injectable forms sold online, have not gone through clinical trials to confirm they are safe.
The FDA placed several peptides into a limited category in 2023, meaning they should not be used in compounded drugs due to potential risks, The Washington Post reported.
Still, some telehealth companies and social media influencers promote combinations of these peptides, even though there is little research on how these mixtures work.
"Compounding pharmacies are being hammered by patients and prescribers to prepare these peptide drugs, and legally, they can’t do it. Not yet, anyway," Scott Brunner, chief executive of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, a trade group, told The Post.
"And that is stimulating the illicit, non-pharmacy actors in the gray market," he added.
The FDA will also review five additional peptides by early 2027, The Post said.
Some scientists are hesitant, however.
“There’s just so little data that it’s hard to even put your finger on all the possible risks,” Paul Knoepfler, a professor at the University of California at Davis School of Medicine, told The Post.
More information
Science has more on peptides.
SOURCE: The Washington Post, April 15, 2026
